On a hot summer day nearly 10 years ago, I found myself straining pig manure to remove maggots for use in my high school science fair project. At the time, I certainly wondered if the results would be worth the effort. Although sometimes smelly, science projects were an essential part of my school experience. Now in the fourth year of my Ph.D. in an environmental microbiology lab, I wonder where I would be without those early opportunities to investigate. (Read on at Science.)
Credit: Robert Neubecker
